Lilly, Life for a Child and Beyond Type 1 advance partnership to improve diabetes care in resource-limited countries

Partnership expands access to care for children and young people with diabetes to approximately 150,000 in 65 countries

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Jan 28, 2021, 08:00 ET

INDIANAPOLIS and SAN FRANCISCO and SYDNEY, Jan. 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- To address inequity in access to quality diabetes care for many children and young adults around the world, Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) and Life for a Child (LFAC) are significantly expanding their long-term partnership and shared mission to provide free immediate care as well as build sustainable diabetes care models for vulnerable populations. Additionally, Life for a Child announced a new strategic partnership with Beyond Type 1, a global diabetes nonprofit focused on changing what it means to live with chronic illness.

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Starting in February 2021, the partners will expand access to care for youth with diabetes from approximately 23,000 in 2020 to approximately 150,000 in 65 countries over the next 10 years. The program also strives to improve outcomes in all countries that receive support. Type 1 diabetes management support includes access to mealtime and basal insulins, reusable pens, blood glucose monitoring, A1C testing and diabetes education.

"Insulin has improved dramatically since it was first discovered a century ago, but there is still much work to be done to ensure equitable access to quality diabetes care, medicines, and support programs across the globe," said Mike Mason, president, Lilly Diabetes. "Lilly and Life for a Child have been collaborating for years to develop solutions, and we are excited to strengthen this critical work with Beyond Type 1."

Since 2009, Lilly has donated 2.4 million vials of insulin to LFAC, which provides access to care, education, and lifesaving medicines and supplies to children and young people with type 1 diabetes in developing countries. As part of the partnership, Lilly will provide mealtime and basal insulins and reusable pens as well as covering the costs associated with arranging, packing, and shipping to countries in conjunction with Direct Relief. The expanded partnership will enable Life for a Child to reach children and young people in more than 60 countries, including India, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Bolivia.

"Insulin is essential for survival in type 1 diabetes, but it is not enough – blood glucose monitoring, medical care, and diabetes education are just as important. Lilly's very generous and extensive support of this expansion will enable Life for a Child to greatly increase provision of all these components of care, in many countries across the globe," said Dr. Graham Ogle, General Manager of Life for a Child. "Together, we aim to build a healthier world, where children with diabetes thrive no matter what country or situation they are born into."

Global diabetes nonprofit Beyond Type 1 will further support the expansion of Life for a Child's programming by providing educational resource development alongside strategic communications support to amplify their critically important work.

"Over the next ten years, with this new support, Life for a Child's footprint will expand to serve 150,000 children with life-sustaining diabetes care around the globe. Beyond Type 1 is thrilled to be joining the LFAC Steering Committee and working to magnify and support this work through community building, communication efforts and resource development," said Beyond Type 1 CEO Thom Scher.

The expansion of the Life for a Child program is part of Lilly's social impact efforts and supports Lilly 30x30, the company's goal to improve access to quality health care for 30 million people living in settings with limited resources, each year, by 2030. The expansion builds on decades of Lilly's global health work to improve equitable access to diabetes care and medicines, including in Kenya, Mexico, South Africa, and the U.S.

About Diabetes
An estimated 463 million adults worldwide have diabetes and more than 1.8 million children and young people below 25 years old have type 1 diabetes. Approximately 3 in 4 people with diabetes, or 79 percent, live in low- and middle-income countries¹. Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs when the body does not properly produce or use the hormone insulin.

About Life for a Child
Life for a Child is a program of Diabetes NSW, based in Sydney, Australia. It aims to provide the best possible care, given local circumstances, for all young people with diabetes, and work towards sustainable provision of care in each country. In every country supported, care is provided through national diabetes associations and leading hospitals. To learn more about Life for a Child, please visit us at lifeforachild.org.

About Beyond Type 1
Beyond Type 1 is a nonprofit organization changing what it means to live with diabetes. By leveraging the power of social media and technology, Beyond Type 1 empowers people to both live well today and support a better tomorrow. Through peer support programs, global campaigns, and digital platforms, Beyond Type 1 is uniting the global diabetes community across both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, helping to change what it means to live with chronic illness. To learn more about Beyond Type 1, please visit us at BeyondType1.org.

About Eli Lilly and Company
Lilly is a global health care leader that unites caring with discovery to create medicines that make life better for people around the world. We were founded more than a century ago by a man committed to creating high-quality medicines that meet real needs, and today we remain true to that mission in all our work. Across the globe, Lilly employees work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. To learn more about Lilly, please visit us at lilly.com and lilly.com/newsroom. CR-LLY

References
1. International Diabetes Federation. IDF Diabetes Atlas, 9th edn. Brussels, Belgium: International Diabetes Federation, 2019. Available at: http://diabetesatlas.org.

Refer to: Brad Jacklin; [email protected]; 317-409-4830 (Eli Lilly and Company)
Harry Cramer; [email protected]; +612 9552 9849 (Life for a Child)
Kim Pace; [email protected] (Beyond Type 1)

SOURCE Eli Lilly and Company